278 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [October i, 1885. 



Rollers and RoUtnf/. — There is no doubt, I think, that 

 Jackson's rollers are immeasurably superior to all 

 others. They will roll, according to pressure and speed, 

 coarse, medium, or fine leaf, equally well. Other rollers, 

 many of them aclmirable in their way, will only roll 

 well withered, Juic leaf, satisfactorily ; and are at the 

 best not half the machine Jackson's is, so I need 

 not take up our time in expatiating on tlieir good 

 or bad qualities iudividaally. 



As you are aw.ire Mr. J;\ckson has been trying ex- 

 periments with marble and stone tables, the marble 

 table I understand has so far not been found 

 a success, and the Obstrver tells us a brass table is 

 to be tried. It may be considered great presump- 

 tion on my part to advise bo clever a patentee as 

 Mr. Jackson, yet I do not believe any table will be 

 found better than wood, and for this reason — no mat- 

 ter how careful we are, we cannot prevent sand and 

 fjrit getting among our leaf. It is this grit that in 

 time wears away the bottom table, and I fear so it 

 will brass or any other material used. IMy table 

 in constant work, all the year through, sometimes 

 day and night, lasted nic 2^ years. AVith ready 

 planed teak planks from Messrs, Walker & Co., one 

 carpenter can fib in a new table iu a day. As 

 far as cleanliuess goes, if we souse our tables 

 well with water as soon as our day's work is over, we 

 leave them as clean as the day they \vere made. Jack- 

 son's Rollers are so well-known it is hardly worth while 

 my going over them. They are : — 



Mis Ha,i'l liuller, price at Colombo E500. tit.kiug at 

 a fill 40 to 50 1-b. of withered leaf, working best at the 

 smaller fill. Requiring 4 coolies at 25 minutes up to 30 

 minutes to finish the roll. Muximiim capacity 1,(500 lb. 

 green leaf per day of 10 hours ; if worked by power 

 ordinary working capacity 1,000 to 1,200 lb. tureen 

 leaf per day of 10 houi's. And this roller may be 

 attached to a water-wheel or other motive p wer, a 

 14 it. wheel v/ith lots of water will work it. 



The Unric^'sal RoUcr^ price at Colombo £92*] 5 sterling. 

 About the same capacity as above, 2,000 lb. green leaf 

 maximum, or 1,600 lb. per day if not pres.sed. Roll 

 finished at 20 to i.'5 ndnutes. 



The Ceijloa Roller, price at Colombo £130 sterling, 

 capacity about 150 lb. withered leaf at a fill, say 5,00) 

 lb. green leaf per day of 10 hours. 



Ike Excelsior Roller, price at Colombo £15815 ster- 

 ling, capcait-y 240 lb. withered leaf at a fill, or about 

 8,000 lb. green leaf per day of 10 hours, roll finished 

 at 20 to 25 minutes. 



In starting our Factory if we have not a 16 ft. water- 

 wheel, or if we have, and economy has to be studied, 

 the Hand Roller should be purchased. With this before 

 us, hand-rolling itself is not to be thought of. If iu 

 the future our motor is to be steam, then is there ;i!] 

 the more reason to purchase, to begin with, the hand- 

 roller, as there are often days on which we have small 

 pluckings when it will pay uk better to work by luui'l 

 than to get up ste.<im. And with steim a baiid-ro!h r 

 is never thrn^vn aw.iy, as u;.e never can tell wliin it 

 may not be wanted. 



If we have a IG ft. wheel «nd lots of water, and 

 money to spare, then begin ^vith the Huiversal, which 

 is everlasting. 



The Ceylon Roller. — This was built at my sug- 

 gestion to suit our special want-^, it can be 

 driven by a l(i-feet water-wheel, and with 

 one of the smaller rollers to back it, is. equal to a 

 200 acre garden, to at a pinch even 250 acres if we 

 have lots of water. Most of us who are converting 

 our poor diseased cotfec fields into everlasting fieldst. 

 of tea, already have valuable KJ-feet or 18-feee 

 water-wheels, without the Cti/lon, Roller these aro 

 useless lumber. Any garden thenforo of from 100 to 

 250 acres with water-wheels reai]y fixed and water to drive 

 them, have here the very roller to suit their purpose, 

 always beginning with oue of the two SMialler rollers. 



The Excelsior. — This re(iuires at the least a strong 

 20 ft. to 22 ft. wheel with /o/.s uf water to drive it, and 

 may be purchased by auy garden of over 200 acres having 

 no motive power ready fixed. If an engine is to 

 work it. I would reconnnend 10 H. P. to be purchased. 



6 H. P. will work an Excelsior, but the more power 

 wo have the more eccnomical it will be in the end, 

 and we may have to work 2 Excelsiors at one 

 time, besides other machinery. 



Motors. — The most satisfactory and the most 

 economical is the water-wheel, but wc must first 

 satisfy ourselves we have lots of water and to spare, 

 A dam will be of no use, as it will be required 

 most during the dry weather, and we arc not 

 now working a coffee-pulper, a matter of 2 to 4 

 hoars. It may be nece.ssary to work S to 10 hours 

 at a stretch if not longer. A dam must be larger 

 then than we can generally make, to be of any use 

 to us. We will require to conduct half as much 

 water again to our wheel as we used in our colfee 

 pulpiug days. I know but few larje estates that have 

 sufficient water to work all the year through, although 

 perhaps they can do so for 8 to 9 months. A water- 

 wheel when once started costs nothing. Use this 

 power then if you can for 8 months, ami work your 

 engine for four; the saving in fuel and upkeep 

 will be great. 



The Turbine has its advocates. Of these I have 

 not sufficient experience to write for or against, 

 further than to note, they do require a large water- 

 supply and they do get out of order. If there is 

 any doubt as to water-supply, steam should be our 

 motive power, rather than risk the turbine. I know 

 from sad experience it does not do to work with too 

 low a power, rather allow 2 to 4 H. P. over what 

 you calculate you will require. Machinery is then 

 under command, and full work, can be got out of 

 it, with less strain to it. Running power too close 

 to actual requireuients is the falsest economy we can 

 be guilty of. Working then a garden of 100 acres, 4 

 H. P. is the least we should have. 150 acres 6 H. P ; 

 200 to 250 acres S to 10 H. P. ; above 2-50 to 500 

 acres 12 to 14 H. P. 



Rolling. — The roller box should be packed evenly 

 and not too tight. Do not put too much pressure 

 on to begin with, but keep on taking it off 

 for the first five minutes, to let your leaf work well ; 

 for the second five minutes put on more pressure, 

 only occasionally easing it ; at the entl of this 

 five minutes take all pressure otf, and turn your 

 loaf well, thoroughly breaking it up, aiding the 

 machine in doiug this, by the hand ; when for the 

 last ten minutes (we are supposed to finish our roll in 

 twenty) allow full pressure, taking it off, halfway up, 

 twice, to break the roll. It is only necessary to see 

 that the press works with the leaf, rising with a 

 jump now and then as the roll turns, if the press 

 is not working with the roll, take off pre.>sure for a 

 little and break up the roll ; if after this it does not 

 work, remove some of the weights on the press, which 

 are arranged to allow of this behig done. Work with full 

 weights if you can, but the press must work with the 

 leaf or an uneven roll, or a mash, will be the consequence. 

 It takes me with ordinary leaf 20 minutes, working at 

 100 revolutions with the Universal. The Excelsior 

 shoulil be driven at about 90 revolutions. Alt the 

 rollers from the baud to the Excelsior are worked 

 in the same way and take the same time to com- 

 plete their work. Oa some gardens it takes 30 to 

 ■15 minutes to complete the I'oU ; this is owing to 

 some local peculiarity in the leaf, stoutness or tough- - 

 ness. Once find out the right time for each class of 

 leaf, and it need never be changed. Rither over-roll 

 than under-roll. lender-rolled tea, although it may 

 have a gODd appearance, opens smooth in the outturn, 

 and does not give out its full strength. Well-roUid 

 tea shows a crinkly outturn, and gives out 

 its full strength. A^ery tippy tea, from light 

 roUitig, pleases the eye, but will not give as 

 good liquor as the s;imc leaf, heavier rolled 

 with the tips stdned out of all recognition, and it 

 IS liquor we want more than appearance nowatlays, 

 although a gooil inak<-, 'i.e., a tight even twist, is a 

 great thing, auil this with Jackson's roller will always 

 \)e the case with good liquor. Our roll, if proptily 

 grished, will show a well-twisted leaf — not in any 

 ■^yay mashed— soft and gummy to the touch. If tippy 



